Arrays of isolated vertically aligned carbon nanotubes, va-CNTs, grown directly on metallic surfaces are potentially promising material for FE applications due to the modest FE turn-on voltages which result from a high geometric field enhancement factor. The growth of isolated vertically aligned carbon nanotubes, va-CNTs with defined diameter and location has been achieved with plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique (PE-CVD) [1,2,3,4,5,6], so the fabrication of FE devices based on deterministic growth of isolated va-CNTs is now possible, which is attractive for some potential applications such as microgun [7], microCRT [8], or lighting elements [9]. In this study, we will address the following question: between arrays of individual va-CNTs and arrays of isolated tufts of va-CNTS what is the most advantageous spatial configuration for FE stability and lifetime in a poor vacuum working environment (～10{sup}(-7) Torr), which is specific for industrial applications.
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